I stopped to realize that the leaves were tossing and turning, creating a bold, cascading melody. My mind raced. When was the last time I had heard such a declaration from a sea of leaves? Have I ever? I am not sure, and if I have, I can’t recall when would it have been? So alive were those trees, so wonderful were those leaves. They found a way to be vibrant, despite the fact that all of their colour had departed for the winter. Brown as the earth, yet as noisy as the faint crashing of waves. They couldn’t quite reach full tide-slapping grandeur, because leaves could never summon the power of all-out crashing waves! However, their ability to gain momentum in which they might deserve the comparison, however slight, was a feat in itself. Loud as I’d ever heard, in that moment I could swear it. I was so grateful for them. Their song in my ears, the sun warming my face, the closing number to our farewell drive. Goodbye, beautiful Barcelona. I will return here. I will take my lover here, there will be a year that I bring my children in the summertime.